Vocabulary words drawn from The Red Badge of Courage, organized by chapter. Each word is used in a contextual sentence, followed by a definition.

1. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary

2. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary Chapters 1-2

3. Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words above appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean. Use clues in the following sentences combined with your prior knowledge, to make informed guesses about what the underlined words mean.

4. For a time he was obliged to labor to make himself believe.

5. Obliged: to constrain by physical, moral, or legal force

6. Others spoke of tattered and eternally hungry men who fired despondent powders.

7. Despondent: feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression

8. Or, on the other hand, he might be a man heretofore doomed to peace and obscurity , but, in reality, made to shine in war.

9. Obscurity: the state of being shrouded in or hidden by darkness; not able to be clearly seen or easily distinguished

10. As he looked all about him and pondered upon the mystic gloom, he began to believe that at any moment the ominous distance might be aflare and the rolling crashes of an engagement come to his ears.

11. Ominous: foreboding or foreshadowing evil

12. He was despondent and sullen , and threw shifting glances about him.

13. Sullen: gloomily or resentfully silent or repressed

14. The youth, considering himself as separated from the others, was saddened by the blithe and merry speeches that went from rank to rank.

15. Blithe: of a happy lighthearted character or disposition

16. The young girl, with pink cheeks and shining eyes, stood like a dauntless statue.

17. Dauntless: not made afraid; not discouraged

18. "No, I ain't," exclaimed the loud solder indignantly ; "and I didn't say I was the bravest man in the world, neither.

19. Indignantly: filled with anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean

20. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary Chapters 3-5

21. Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words above appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean. Use clues in the following sentences combined with your prior knowledge, to make informed guesses about what the underlined words mean.

22. There was a sudden change from the ponderous infantry of theory to the light and speedy infantry of practice.

23. Ponderous: unwieldy or clumsy because of weight and size

24. A house standing placidly in different fields had to him an ominous look

25. Placidly: serenely or calmly free of interruption or disturbance

26. The shadows of the woods were formidable .

27. Formidable: causing fear, dread, or apprehension

28. With the passionate song of the bullets and the banshee shrieks of shells were mingled loud catcalls and bits of facetious advice concerning places of safety. .

29. Facetious: joking or jesting often inappropriately

30. He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate.

31. Menacing: : to make a show of intention to harm

32. If he had thought the regiment was about to be annihilated perhaps he could have amputated himself from it.

33. Annihilated: destroyed; caused to cease to exist

34. He developed the acute exasperation of a pestered animal, a well-meaning cow worried by dogs.

35. Exasperation: a feeling of irritation or annoyance or anger

36. They lay twisted in fantastic contortions . Arms were bent and heads were turned in incredible ways.

37. Contortions: violent twistings into a strained shape or expression

38. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary Chapters 6-9

39. Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words above appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean. Use clues in the following sentences combined with your prior knowledge, to make informed guesses about what the underlined words mean.

40. The red, formidable difficulties of war had been vanquished.

41. Vanquished: being overcome in battle : subdued completely

42. Into the youth's eyes there came a look that one can see in the orbs of a jaded horse.

43. Orbs: eyes, spherical objects

44. The men there seemed to be in conventional moods, altogether unaware of the impending annihilation.

45. Impending: being about to occur

46. Perhaps the general, unable to comprehend chaos , might call upon him for information.

47. Chaos: disorder, confusion, an unpredictable state of things

48. For a time he was obliged to labor to make himself believe.

49. It suddenly occurred to the youth that the fight in which he had been was, after all, but perfunctory popping.

50. Perfunctory: characterized by lacking in interest or enthusiasm; characterized by routine or superficiality

51. The sergeant, taking not of this, gave pause to his elaborate history while he administered a sardonic comment. "Be keerful, honey, you'll be a-ketchin' flies," he said.

52. Sardonic: : disdainfully or skeptically humorous

53. He became again the grim, stalking specter of a soldier.

54. Specter: something that haunts or perturbs the mind

55. Then it was shaken by a prolonged ague . He stared into space.

56. Ague: a fever (as malaria) marked by paroxysms of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervals Pronunciation: ā-gyü

57. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary Chapters 10-13

58. Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words above appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean. Use clues in the following sentences combined with your prior knowledge, to make informed guesses about what the underlined words mean.

59. From the heaving tangle issued exhortations, commands, imprecations .

60. Imprecations: curses

61. Avoiding the obstructions gave it the sinuous movement of a serpent.

62. Sinuous: a serpentine or wavy form

63. He searched about in his mind for an adequate malediction for the indefinite cause, the thing upon which men turn the words of final blame.

64. Malediction: curse, speak evil of

65. 4. In a defeat there would be a roundabout vindication of himself. He thought it would prove, in a manner, that he had fled early because of his superior powers of perception.

66. Vindication: justification against a denial or censure

67. They were heedless of his appeals. They did not seem to see him.

68. Heedless: careless, paying no attention

69. There was a mighty altercation .

70. Altercation: a noisy, heated, angry dispute

71. . . . then he heard a cheerful and audacious whistling as the man strode away.

72. Audacious: intrepidly daring, adventurous, recklessly bold

73. After the reproof the youth said no more.

74. Reliance: something or someone depended on

75. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary Chapters 14-17

76. Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words above appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean. Use clues in the following sentences combined with your prior knowledge, to make informed guesses about what the underlined words mean.

77. There was about him now a fine reliance .

78. Reproof: criticism for a fault

79. The youth was quite disconcerted at this surprising reception of his remarks.

80. Disconcerted: to throw into confusion, to disturb the composure of

81. The latter felt immensely superior to his friend, but he inclined to condescension .

82. Condescension: voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in relations with an inferior

83. He presently began a long and intricate denunciation of the commander of the forces.

84. Denunciation: a public condemnation; an act of denouncing

85. Inwardly he was reduced to an abject pulp by these chance words.

86. Abject: sunk to or existing in a low state or condition

87. In the regiment there was a peculiar kind of hesitation denoted in the attitudes of the men.

88. Denoted: to serve as an indication of

89. For today he felt that he had earned opportunities for contemplative repose .

90. Repose: to lie at rest

91. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary Chapters 18-21

92. Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words above appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean. Use clues in the following sentences combined with your prior knowledge, to make informed guesses about what the underlined words mean.

93. The voices of the cannon were mingled in a long and interminable row.

94. Interminably: having or seeming to have no end

95. There was the delirium that encounters despair and death, and is heedless and blind to the odds.

96. Delirium: an acute mental disturbance characterized by confused thinking and disrupted attention

97. . . . and off to the right an ominous demonstration could sometimes be dimly discerned .

98. Discerned: to detect with the eyes, to recognize or identify

99. . . and then with a long, wailful cry the dilapidated regiment surged forward and began its new journey.

100. Dilapidated: decayed, deteriorated, or fallen into partial ruin

101. The dead man, swinging with bended back, seemed to be obstinately tugging, in ludicrous and awful ways, for the possession of the flag.

102. Ludicrous: amusing or laughable through obvious absurdity, incongruity, exaggeration

103. . . it was derived that they had been unaware of the proximity of their dark-suited foes or had mistaken the direction.

104. Proximity: nearness

105. The impetus of enthusiasm was theirs again.

106. Impetus: a driving force

107. The youth in this contemplation was smitten with a large astonishment.

108. Smitten: to strike sharply or heavily especially with the hand

109. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary Chapters 22-24

110. Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words above appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean. Use clues in the following sentences combined with your prior knowledge, to make informed guesses about what the underlined words mean.

111. Having stirred this prodigious uproar, ... the brigade, after a little time, came marching airily out again.

112. Prodigious: enormous; extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree himself believe.

113. . . . he saw wild and desperate rushes of men perpetually backward and forward in riotous surges.

114. Perpetually: continuing forever, occurring continually

115. But at one part of the line there was a grim and obdurate group that made no movement.

116. Obdurate: stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing, resistant to persuasion

117. The third captive sat with a morose countenance.

118. Morose: having a sullen and gloomy disposition

119. For a time this pursuing recollection of the tattered man took all elation from the youth's veins.

120. Incorrigible: not reformable, incapable of being corrected or amended

121. For a time this pursuing recollection of the tattered man took all elation from the youth's veins.

122. Elation: a state of being extremely happy

123. The procession of weary soldiers became a bedraggled train, despondent and muttering, marching with churning effort in a trough of liquid brown mud under a low, wretched sky.

124. Bedraggled: wet and limp by or as if by rain, soiled and stained

125. The Red Badge of Courage Vocabulary